RUDE BY IGNORANCE

Whenever my family take a weekend getaway to Port Dickson, we usually have our dinner at a quaint little chinese restaurant by the roadside, just a stone throw away from 'The Store' shopping complex. Actually, to call it a restaurant is an overstatement. Blink and you will probably miss it. We chanced upon this place a couple of years ago while looking for a place to eat. At the time we were surprised to see so many patrons in such a small place. The logical conclusion was that the food must be good!

And indeed it was.! And it still is. The oyster omellette served there is to die for!! I am salivating even as I write.

And last weekend was no exception. We were there at 6.30 pm and ordered our food. White rice with oyster omellette, a plate of green vegetables and chicken cooked with ginger and spring onion. The food was good.

Right about at the end of our meal, in walked a couple of Mat Sallehs (caucasians) and they looked around and sat down at the table next to ours. The place wasn't really crowded and everyone there was already eating. And this couple waited....and waited....and waited. Frankly, I would have walked off. The waitress (also the owner's wife) simply did not approach them to take their orders. My gut feeling tells me that they were wishing fervently that the couple would eventually give up waiting and go elsewhere.

I tried to understand why they were not attended to. My logical conclusion was that the waitress simply could not speak English well and therefore do not want to attend to the couple. I am sure she had no intention of being rude, but rude it was. Rude by ignorance.

Finally I could not take it anymore and I summoned the waitress, at a pretence to settle my bill. While she was calculating the total bill, I asked her why the couple next to me were not attended to. She smiled sheepishly and mumbled something like 'I was too busy'. Yeah right, like she was Martha Steward or something.

Anyway, with a bit of translation from me, the couple got their orders in. Fried rice, same chicken dish as ours and something else. You could see relief in everyone's face.

We found out later that they were from London and were on a brief stop over back from Australia. They loved PD (obviously they haven't seen our more beautiful beaches elsewhere) and apparently, the cab driver recommended the chinese restaurant to them. We exchanged pleasantries and bid them adieu.

I think we stand to lose a lot if we don't make the changes to accomodate tourists. Well, at least a menu written in English (or Manglish) or what ever is better than ignoring the customers altogether and hoping they will go away like an unwanted sore.

I remember a time when I was scolded by a chinese hawker because I asked her what she was selling as I could not read chinese. She raised her voice and said "Can't you read? How come a chinese cannot read chinese words?" I retorted that not everyone knows how to read chinese and if she was not bothered to translate her menu, then she loses business. That zipped her mouth.

It's true, I can't read chinese to save my life. I have been called a banana man (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) throughout my secondary school years. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel deficient that I can't read chinese. In fact, some times I pity them for their narrow mindedness.

So what if I can't read chinese. If you do not provide translations of your product, then I will simply take my business elsewhere. That's reality. Narrow-minded people lose out in the end.